


Never Let Me Go

by SonofHades



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: M/M, Past Jason Grace/Piper McLean, School Shootings, Sexual Identity, past percy and nico
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-13
Updated: 2015-09-02
Packaged: 2018-04-14 12:01:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 17,931
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4563888
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SonofHades/pseuds/SonofHades
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When tragedy strikes, two friends manage to pull through by leaning on each other. But does time really heal all wounds? Is Nico willing to accept his loss and try to find new happiness? Is Jason willing to be the hero that Nico lost?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Losing Half of Your Heart

**Author's Note:**

> So, if you read my other other fic(Children of Loss), you know that I'm about to start mainly writing for the Jasico fandom. That being said, I thought everyone over here deserved to know what they are getting for. I mean, I am not always writing stuff like this exactly, but I do write dark stuff. I like realistic relationships. I know I can do fluff well, but I'm not going to just throw it in.
> 
> Anyways, this is a four chapter fic that I'll be posting over the next few days. Like I said, don't expect me to go around killing people like this in my new fic. I just wanted to go ahead and submit something for the Jasico fandom over here, because I know you guys are bigger on AO3. I hope you guys enjoy the next few chapters, and I will be going into what my two new fics are going to be after I get the last chapter out. Just so you guys can know if you'll be interested in the concepts.
> 
> On a side note to painteddread: I hope you scream in anger as much as you did the first time, which Carlee totally did not tell me about. Because, yes, this is how I roll, this is how I start off a story. I'm so happy to be in your fandom. Aren't you glad to have me? :3

There was something very therapeutic about sketching in the library during his off period, Nico found. His dark brown eyes kept looking between a short girl in the corner, who was too busy reading a book to notice him, and the sketchpad currently sitting in his lap. Though, he was also too consumed with his work to notice the approaching figure behind him.

Nico nearly jumped out of his seat when a pair of arms wrapped around his neck and fastened a necklace behind his back. The boy frowned and turned his head away from his work, his lips instantly being met by a chapped set of lips. He wrinkled his nose.

“You stink.”

Percy pulled back and pouted, glancing down at himself. “I just got out of gym, thought I'd come see you. I see how it is.” He smiled when Nico rolled his eyes, resting his chin on the younger boy's shoulders and sliding his arms around Nico again. “What'cha drawing, baby?”

“Nothing,” Nico mumbled, closing his sketchbook. He glanced down at the necklace that his boyfriend had put on him, his fingers reaching up to touch the silver ring with a green stone in it. Percy's class ring. “I think we're a little too young to get married.”

Percy chuckled and slid into the chair next to Nico. “I know. But I can't really afford a promise ring, so I thought this would work until we graduated.”

“You graduate,” Nico reminded him. “I still have another year after you finish this year.”

The green-eyed boy smiled before leaning in to press his lips to Nico's soft, paler ones. The librarian cleared her throat and Percy smiled sheepishly at her. “Sorry,” he whispered over to her. Nico smirked as Percy pulled back before they got yelled at. “But, I mean, it doesn't change anything.”

Nico shrugged. He smiled as his fingers fiddled with the silver band. “Annabeth and Piper gave you the idea, didn't they?”

“No.” But Percy's pink cheeks said otherwise. Nico arched a brow at him. “Okay, perhaps, but as long as you like it, what does it matter?”

“Thank you,” Nico said before pecking Percy on the cheek. The taller boy grinned.

Nico looked down when Percy put a hand on his thigh. “So, Mom was wondering if you'd come over for dinner tonight?”

Nico took in a deep breath. “Yeah, sounds good. I just need to get some homework done before then.”

“You could do it at our place.”

The pale boy narrowed his eyes. “I doubt that would be very productive.”

Percy held up his hands in defense. “I can be patient and let you finish,” he assured his boyfriend. Nico did not look convinced. “I promise!”

“Quiet,” the librarian hissed at them.

Nico was staring down at his new necklace when Percy looked back at him. The brown-eyed boy let out a sigh. “Why are you so perfect?” Percy couldn't help but grin at that. “How did I ever get lucky enough for you to want to date me?”

“Well,” Percy began, placing his arm behind Nico, “I have known you since we were little kids. But, if you must know, it's your butt.”

Nico rolled his eyes and playfully shoved Percy. “Leave it to you to ruin a moment. See if you get any tonight.”

Percy instantly took on the image of a kicked baby seal. “You wouldn't be so cruel, would you?”

It was Nico's turn to grin. “We'll have to see, now won't we?” He sighed when Percy continued to pout. “Oh come down, like you never get what you want anyways.”

Percy smiled and stuck his tongue out. “Not like you don't enjoy it.”

Nico hummed and tapped his lips, bringing his knees up to rest against the surface of the table. “Well, I suppose there's no denying that.” He closed his eyes as Percy leaned in for a quick kiss. “I love you,” Nico whispered.

Percy kissed him again. “Love you, too.”

Nico started to go back to his drawing, when a gunshot went off from the hallway. The younger boy was startled, hand frozen, as his eyes widened at the door. Another gunshot went off, followed by screaming.

When the door jerked open, Percy clamped his hand over Nico's mouth and pulled the boy out of his chair. They slid behind some bookshelves, Percy peering around the corner. Nico pressed himself against the floor to peek over a row of books.

A set of combat boots trudged into the library and Nico heard the librarian's chair squeak as it rolled across the floor. “Please,” the woman attempted to plead before there was another gunshot. Nico had to cover his mouth to muffle a scream that nearly escaped his mouth as he witnessed their librarian fall to the floor with a bullet hole in the middle of her forehead.

Percy grabbed the back of Nico's shirt and urged the boy to get onto his feet. Without taking his eyes off of the intruder, Percy pushed his boyfriend forward, attempting to make an escape through the side door. Nico covered his head when another gunshot went off nearby as a girl's scream pierced through the air. Nico wondered if it was the girl he had been sketching. Another gunshot silenced her screaming.

It was at this point that Nico found something warm sliding down his cheeks. He reached a shaky hand up to find out that he was crying. His breathing became ragged at the sound of a shot from the halls. They weren't going to be safe going out there. But one look at Percy's eyes told Nico that they had to try. It was better than staying trapped in this room.

The second the door opened, the two heard an angry voice from behind them. Percy slammed the door shut just as a bullet came flying through it. Nico let out a scream and crouched down in front of the wall. Percy instantly yanked him back to his feet.

“You need to stay with me, Nico,” Percy whispered, brushing some of Nico's hair out of his eyes. “I'm going to get you out of here.”

Nico nodded as Percy took a firm hold on his hand and led them towards one of the back stairs. Percy poked his head inside the stairwell and let out a curse. He shoved Nico inside and moved to crouch down beside a blond head of hair, who was cradling a familiar body.

“Jason, what happened?” Percy whispered. Nico could only stand there, shaking violently.

Jason looked up, tears streaming down his cheeks. “It was Kronos and his friends. They...they shot Piper.” He wiped at his nose as Percy squeezed his shoulder. “I tried to...I tried to help her, but there was so much blood.”

Nico flinched at a nearby gunshot. Piper was dead, and who knew how many of their other friends might be dead as well. What if they didn't make it? Percy cursed as he stumbled back to his feet. He peered over the railing of the stairs before grabbing Nico's arm. He then leaned in and whispered something to Jason, pulling the blond to his feet. Shaking Jason, Percy urged the blond towards the stairs as well.

With one final look back at Piper's body, the three hurried down the flight of stairs. Jason slowly opened the door, making sure to be as quiet as possible. It sounded quieter down here, but Nico wasn't sure if that was a good or bad sign. From the pale look on Jason's face, Nico was going to assume the latter.

“I don't see anyone walking the halls,” Jason whispered.

Percy gave a nod. “We can make for the exit just down the hall and to the left.”

“That's still a long ways.”

Percy sighed. “I know,” he whispered, “but it's better than attempting to run for the front of the school.”

Jason gave a nod of agreement. The blond slid out into the hall and Percy pushed Nico out behind Jason, making sure to keep Nico in between the two taller boys. Nico opened his mouth to sob, but Percy covered it with his hand. There were so many bodies littering the hallway. Nico felt lightheaded.

Nico nearly stumbled over one of the fallen bodies as they moved along the edge of the wall. Percy grabbed his wrist and tilted the boy's face around to look at him. “I need you to stay with me, okay?” Nico gave a small nod. “I don't want to lose you.”

The boy bit down on his lip to attempt to muffle any further cries as he followed closely behind Jason. All three ducked down when a nearby gunshot startled them. One of the teachers slid along the floor from one of the side hallways in front of them. Nico swallowed a lump in his throat. There was a shooter blocking the path they needed to take for the exit.

Percy hissed at them to stop. “Maybe we can try another way,” the green-eyed whispered. However, some laughter coming from the stairwell that they had just come from said otherwise. The boy cursed under his breath. “Okay, forward then.”

“You can't be serious,” Jason hissed.

“Do you have a better idea?”

The two stared each other down for a moment before Jason slumped his shoulders and shook his head. Percy urged them on. Nico was startled when Percy reached out and took his hand, giving it a warm squeeze.

They came to a stop at the corner, allowing Jason to peer around the edge. When he found nothing, the blond motioned for them to continue. Nico quickly followed after the blond. The doorway was in sight and relief began to flood through his chest. They were almost out of the school, just a few more steps.

Percy jerked Nico back when five shot rang out from the classroom to their left. Nico's breath hitched as the doorknob began to turn. Jason motioned for them to duck into the nearest classroom. So close to the exit, only to be shot down. Nico sat frozen on the floor as Percy closed the door, keeping it open just a crack to look out into the hall. There was no hope for them, was there?

Jason paced the classroom, wiping a hand down his face as he probably tried to weigh their options. Nico could hear sirens outside. Jason moved over to the windows and tried to pry them open, but they wouldn't budge.

“We could smash them,” Jason recommended.

“It would be too loud,” Nico hissed at him. “One of the shooters is right outside, he'd hear it and be in here before we could get out.”

The blond groaned and covered his mouth, breathing in deeply. He looked on the verge of a panic attack. Nico turned back to Percy, who was still looking out the crack in the door. As if he knew Nico was looking at him, Percy glanced over his shoulder and smiled. But Nico saw it, that look in Percy's eyes. Nico felt the blood drain from his face. He knew what Percy was thinking.

“No,” Nico whispered.

Percy got up, ignoring Nico. He grabbed Jason and took him off to the side. “I need you to make sure Nico gets out of here.”

Jason furrowed his brow at his friend. Nico was on his feet now, grabbing his boyfriend by the wrist. “You can't,” he whispered. Percy pursed his lips and turned back to Jason. “Percy.”

“Promise me, Jason,” Percy said.

Slowly, Jason nodded his head. The blond moved over to the door. Nico looked down, shaking his head. Percy pulled him to his chest. He was shaking, Nico could feel it.

Jason motioned over to them. “Hey, I think we're clear,” he hissed.

Percy kept Nico pulled tightly to him as he moved them over to the door. Sure enough, there was no one to be seen. Jason slowly opened the door and stepped out into the hall. Nico half expected to hear a gunshot and see Jason slump to the floor, but the hall was silent. Percy led Nico out into the hall, where he slowly pushed Nico towards the exit.

But they were not so fortunate.

A loud gunshot behind them alerted them that the shooter was still nearby. Percy spun Nico around. “Go,” he urged the shorter boy.

Nico shook his head, fighting back tears. “Not without you.”

Percy looked over his shoulder when he heard footsteps. “I don't have time to argue. Go!” Nico shook his head again. He needed Percy to come with him, not be the hero. “I'm not going to let them kill you.”

“And I don't need a hero right now,” Nico sobbed. “Please!”

Percy gripped Nico's shoulders tightly and pulled him in for a kiss, smashing their lips together. Nico sobbed into the kiss, his fingers winding tightly into the fabric of Percy's shirt. But he was soon ripped away and pushed towards Jason. “Get him out of here,” Percy said in a commanding voice, a dead serious look in his eyes as he stared at Jason. As Nico was pulled away, Percy smiled at him like he always would when he saw Nico in the mornings. “I love you.”

Nico struggled to grab at Percy, but Jason refused to let go of him. Nico let out a loud cry when none other than one of Kronos's latest additions to his group, Luke, stepped around the corner. He smirked when he saw Percy standing there in the middle of the hallway.

“Well, well,” Luke chuckled, “if it isn't the fag. Protecting your fag boyfriend, eh? Gonna play the hero, while your buddy gets poor little Nico to safety?” Luke narrowed his eyes and pointed the gun over Percy's shoulder, aimed right at Nico. “Don't think so.”

Percy stepped in front of Nico, holding up his hands defensively. “Luke, you don't have to do this.”

Luke slowly nodded. “Always the hero, aren't you, Percy?” He wave the gun around slightly, as if he was contemplating what Percy had just said. “But I have to disagree with you.”

Nico sobbed again. Without looking behind him, Percy growled, “Get him out of here, Jason.”

Jason nodded, even though he knew Percy wouldn't see it. Gripping Nico around his stomach, Jason tugged the struggling boy backwards. But they had to stop in front of the exit when Luke shot a bullet through the glass window on the door.

Jason pulled Nico against his chest and pushed the door open in a hurry. “No!” Nico screamed, struggling to look at his boyfriend. He felt the heat from the sun hit his face and the sirens were now blaring in his ears. Jason's breath hitched and he attempted to cover Nico the best he could.

“Luke, don't!” Percy yelled out. Nico froze as he heard a final shot. “No!” Nico heard Percy's sneakers scuff against the tiled floor.

“Percy!” Nico screamed into Jason's chest as he heard something hit the floor. The door slammed shut and Jason quickly ran with Nico's wrist tightly in his grasp. Tears streamed down Nico's cheeks as he turned to look back at the school.

Once they were behind the police barricade, Jason let go of Nico's wrist. For a moment, Nico just stood there, hoping that he would see Percy walk out of that building. But when it became obvious that Percy would not be coming out, Nico fell to his knees and cried. Jason crouched down beside him, pulling his friend to his chest.

“Nico!” Jason yelled as the boy attempted to run towards the school. The blond held onto Nico's waist and pulled him back into the grass, letting the boy cry some more.

Nico clutched the grass, his heart felt like it was being torn in half. He screamed at the top of his lungs as hot streams of tears poured down his cheeks. Jason held onto Nico, but kept his eyes on the school as the order was given for the police to move in.

There was a scream from the crowd outside as a few last gunshots were heard from within the school building. Nico pushed himself up and scrambled away from Jason. “I hate you!” He screamed at the blond. “How could you let him do that? Why didn't you stop him?” Tears now blurred Nico's vision as he stumbled around on the grass, his legs feeling weak. “He's dead!”

“Nico,” Jason whispered, trying to hold himself together.

Nico smacked the blond's hand away from him. “I hate you!” He screamed as a female paramedic caught him and helped guide him over to an ambulance.

Jason closed his eyes and fell back on the grass, pulling his legs up and burying his face into them, his fingers gripping tightly at his short, blond hair.

 

Three days later, Nico stood beside Percy's casket, staring down at his boyfriend's peaceful face. Closing his eyes, he let his tears flow freely. The rain beat down on top of the tent that had been set up around Percy's grave. He didn't even notice anyone approach until a warm hand squeezed his shoulder.

Sally Jackson pulled the weeping boy to her. Nico clung to her back and the two cried together. “I'm so sorry,” Nico sobbed.

Sally stroked his wet hair. “I know, sweetie.” She wiped at her own eyes with the back of her hand. “I miss him, too. So much.” Nico's fingers curled tighter in her dress. “Don't blame yourself, dear, he wouldn't want you to do that.”

Nico's chest heaved violently as he opened his eyes and spotted Jason standing over at a fresh grave, the one they had buried Piper in just the day before. Jason's eyes found Nico's in the rain and the brown-eyed boy sobbed again. He would have never said such harsh things to Jason before. No, Jason was one of his best friends. Nico knew he would apologize, but not right now. Right now, he just wanted to be with Percy as much as he could. Before Percy was taken from him forever.

Nico pulled himself from Sally's hold and walked over to put his hands on the side of the casket. His chest heaved again as he brought the rose he had been at the start of the service up to his chest. Nico closed his eyes and placed the red rose on top of Percy's chest before leaning down and pressing his lips to Percy's temple.

His heart broke when Percy didn't smile back at him. Nico would never see that smile again, never see those sea-green eyes sparkle back at him. Nico reached up and wiped the tears from his eyes, his lips trembling as a whole new set of tears came forth. He covered his mouth and sobbed, Sally rubbing soft circles into his back.

Nico looked back at the woman and nodded, letting her know he would be okay. Sally nodded back and wiped at her eyes with the tissue she had been clinging to all during the service. Her mascara had long since left a black trail from her eyes.

The boy wiped at his face again as he gripped the side of the casket. “I miss you,” Nico whispered. He couldn't help it, he cried again. “I miss you so much,” he sobbed. With a shaky hand, Nico reached out and gripped Percy's cold and lifeless hand. The warmth and assurance that usually came with it was no longer there. A tear fell from Nico's cheek and hit the shirt that Percy was being buried in. “Why'd you have to be such a hero?”

Leaning forward, Nico rested his head against Percy's forehead. He wasn't ready for this, not that he probably ever would be. This wasn't supposed to happen. Nico looked down at Percy's peaceful face. He could no longer keep his eyes closed for very long, knowing he would only see Percy's happy face in his head.

“I love...” Nico sobbed again, his legs giving out on him as he fell to his knees beside the coffin. “I love you so much, Percy Jackson.” He wiped at his face again, though the tears kept coming. “Why'd you have to leave me alone? I don't know what I'm going to do without you.”


	2. I Need Someone Like Him

Steam filtered through the confined space of the bathroom as a blond head of hair poked out of the shower. Stepping out, Jason grabbed his towel and wrapped it around his waist. He wiped a hand across the mirror to be able to see himself. His roommate would probably kill him later for smearing the mirror, but Jason would deal with that bridge when he came to it.

Jason frowned as he touched his lip. He had gotten a scar during the shooting three years ago, though in comparison to what happened that day, Jason could live with it. He let out a slow, shaky breath as he stared back at his reflection. It still hurt to think about, but Jason had learned to accept the tragedy and was attempting to move on with his life.

It would have been what Piper would want for him.

As he opened the door, the cool air of his apartment hit him, causing him to cringe slightly. Frowning, the blond gripped his towel to keep it from falling off before stepping out into the hall. But before he went to his room, Jason decided to check in on his roommate.

Poking his head into their living room, Jason spotted the dark haired boy still sitting on the couch, just like Jason had left him. It did not look like Nico had moved at all, just occasionally blinking at the TV.

Jason let out a sigh as he stepped into the living room, his desire to go to his room temporarily forgotten. “Are you just going to sit there all day?”

“Shh! Watching something,” the brown-eyed boy mumbled, not taking his eyes off the TV.

Jason rolled his eyes and slid over the back of the couch, plopping down next to his roommate. He leaned his head back and spread his arms across the back of the couch. “Do something productive.”

Apparently, it was in this moment that Nico noticed Jason's current state of undress. The brown-eyed boy tossed a cushion at him, his pale cheeks tinging pink. “Put some clothes on!”

The blond chuckled. “What's the big deal? We're both guys?” He cocked his head to the side when his roommate gave him a dark look. “I mean, I don't think you're going to take advantage of me, so what should it matter?”

“Thanks,” Nico mumbled, rolling his eyes. “Thanks for bringing sexuality into this.”

“What?” Jason asked, dumbfounded. His reply came in the form of another pillow being thrown at him, this time in the face. He frowned as Nico got up and walked out of the room, the younger boy's door slamming a few seconds later.

Jason let out a sigh and placed the pillows back where they needed to go. He was used to this by now. The two had been living with each other for over a year now, ever since they graduated high school and were looking around at universities. When they had both decided on one, it had turned out they had both picked the same school. And, since it would make finances easier, the two had decided to share an apartment.

This had been after the two had started talking to each other after the incident. It had taken a few months, but Nico had just shown up on Jason's doorstep one evening. The boy had mumbled an apology, and that had been that. Jason was just glad that they had made up, considering how bad Nico got their senior year.

The boy had lost a lot of weight, something that Nico was still recovering from. Nico had always been a toothpick, but the boy had started to look like a corpse. His skin had paled out a lot, and there were always dark circles under the boy's eyes after the shooting.

After getting up and getting dressed, Jason knocked on Nico's door. When no answer came, Jason poked his head in anyways. The lights were out, which normally wouldn't have mattered during the day, but Nico kept his dark curtains closed most of the time. However, there was a ray of light shining in.

Nico sat in the windowsill, his head simply turned to stare down at the city below them. Jason scrunched his lips and leaned against the frame of the door. Nico let out a sigh, which let Jason know that he knew the blond was standing there. A sketchbook and a pencil sat in the raven-haired boy's lap, though nothing was drawn in it. Nothing was ever drawn in it anymore.

Nico's older sister had given that to him for his birthday two years ago, but Nico had yet to actually put anything it in.

“Going to draw something?” Jason finally asked.

“No,” Nico whispered.

The blond pursed his lips, moving to sit on the edge of his roommate's bed. Nico had been accepted into an art program, and his professors were very happy about having him; but the boy never drew for fun anymore. And because of this, his professors often said that Nico lacked passion.

After this past semester, before they had gone on break for the summer, Nico had almost gotten his funding dropped. When Jason asked Bianca, she had said his professors weren't happy with his performance. Jason had immediately gone to them with some of Nico's old sketchbooks and showed them everything Nico had done. It had probably been what kept the boy in the program, but Jason had never told Nico that he had done it.

After weighing his chances of not being castrated, Jason shifted over to sit at Nico's feet on the windowsill. “So, how about you come out with me and the guys tonight?”

Nico shook his head. “I'll pass.” The boy finally turned his attention on the blond. “What are you guys doing, though?”

The blond shrugged with a sheepish smile. “Just hanging out, maybe see if we can get into a bar.”

The raven-haired boy rolled his eyes. “Or, and here's an idea, you could wait a few more weeks until you are legal. And then just make Leo and Frank wait a couple of months until they are.”

The blond grinned. “You could come and get in trouble with us.”

“Pass.”

“Or,” Jason suggested, “I could get Annabeth to go somewhere with you and Rachel. That could be fun.”

His roommate sighed, rolling his eyes. “You're worse than my mother. I don't need you setting up my social life.”

At least then he would have one, Jason thought to himself. Nico had barely done anything with their friends since Percy died. He still kept in contact with their core group of friends, but rarely did any of them besides Jason get to see him.

Nico frowned. “And I don't trust going anywhere with Rachel. I still not forgiven you or her for that one night.”

Jason's grin only grew. He chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck, sliding farther back on the windowsill and shifting Nico's legs so that they were in his lap. “Come on, he wanted the di-” A dark look from Nico made Jason purse his lips. “Angelo,” Jason finally said, slowly and cautiously.

“Did you really just make that pun?”

The blond chuckled and rested his chin on Nico's knees. “It was funny, and you know it.” Nico arched a brow, but a faint smile let Jason know that he was making progress. “Come on, go out. How about we all go to the same bar, and you could just sit with Rachel and Annabeth if you would rather not be involved in anything...crazy that Leo might come up with.”

Nico let out a sigh, his head falling back against the frame of the window. “I'll make you a deal. Make it a tavern or something, that way I can partake in things and not have to worry about getting arrested.” Jason opened his mouth, but Nico glared at him. “I would rather not go to jail because Leo messed up on an ID...again.”

“You make it sound like you were the one in jail.”

“I would have been, and so would you, if I hadn't convinced you that Leo's idea was stupid!”

Jason smiled and rolled his head to the side. “You, my good sir, have yourself a deal.”

\------------------------

Nico shot a dull look over to the stupid blond that was waving at him excitedly. “I hate my roommate,” mumbled.

Rachel grinned at him from across the table before stuffing her face with the hamburger she had purchased. She tried to open her mouth to say something, but Annabeth shoved a napkin in her face. “Please, swallow your food before you try and regale us with whatever it is you want to say,” the blond sighed.

The red haired girl narrowed her eyes at the girl beside her. Swallowing and wiping her mouth, Rachel turned back to Nico. “So, have you shagged him yet?”

That caught Nico by surprise. He pulled his attention from the stupid blond on the other side of the tavern, who was currently helping Leo stack their silverware and drinks on top of each other to form a pyramid. “What?” Came Nico's eloquent response. “Ew, no, don't be gross. I've known Jason for a long time.”

“Didn't stop you from getting Percy naked,” Rachel mumbled.

Annabeth elbowed the other girl. “What she's saying is that you-”

“Need to get some,” Rachel interrupted. “You know, dust the cobwebs, clean the gutters. Find a master to help you debate.”

“Okay, that last one was just...no.” Annabeth sighed and took a sip of her drink. “But she does have a point, you should move on.”

Nico pursed his lips. He had, or at least tried. But nothing ever worked out. He swirled his straw around in his drink, not looking up from the table. “Not easy to let go, when you lose someone that has been part of your life since you were a toddler.”

Annabeth gave him a weak smile and squeezed his hand. “I know, but he wouldn't want to do this to yourself.”

“They just don't work out.”

Rachel dropped her burger before she could take another bite, pointing her finger across the table at the pale boy. “Because you keep comparing them to Percy. If you keep doing that, you might as well adopt like fifty cats and kick Jason out to make room for them.” She shook her head. “No one is going to compare to Percy, because no one should ever be compared to anyone. That being said, I'll hand it to Sally, she knows how to raise a kid to be near perfect.”

Annabeth crossed her arms on the table and leaned forward slightly. “Nico, you're never going to find someone just like Percy. He was one of a kind. This has been the problem with every guy you've tried talking to, the few that we managed to get you to go on a date with this past year. And you kept giving similar reasons for not liking any of them, mostly because they didn't live up to your expectations.”

Rachel nodded her head over to where the boys were sitting, chewing on a fry. “Don't know, blondie comes pretty close.”

“Jason's straight,” Nico mumbled. He sat back and made a small fanning motion away from him. “And just a friend, it would be too weird.”

“Please,” Rachel snorted, “he would so bang you if you asked him to. Honestly, I'm surprised you two aren't already dating.”

Nico felt his cheeks heat up. He cleared his throat and averted his gaze. “Okay, this is really awkward. Can we not talk about this?”

Annabeth smiled as she took a sip of her drink. Unlike Nico, her and Rachel were old enough and had purchased themselves some alcohol for the night. “Honestly, I do have to agree with Rachel.” Nico looked at her in disbelief. She held up her hands to silence him. “Hear me out. You two have gotten closer ever since graduation, and now you only really talk to Jason on a regular basis.” She nodded her head over to where Jason sat. “He does a lot for you, more than I think you know. He worries about you and has even taken care of you when you've been sick. He might be straight, but I think he could be gay for you. Or bisexual, if you want to call it that.”

“Nico-sexual,” Rachel added with a grin.

“Please stop,” Nico begged. “Your jokes are horrible tonight.” He massaged his head with a sigh. “Jason and I aren't anything, nor will we ever be. Nor do I plan or want to be anything more than friends with him.” He gripped the table with a sigh. “I'm happy as I am.”

Rachel slowly nodded her head. “Wrong, are we?” Nico narrowed his eyes, which only made her grin more. “So why is he coming over here, instead of enjoying the rest of his night with the boys?”

Nico looked up, and sure enough, Jason was weaving his way through the crowd. He came to a stop behind Nico's chair, resting his arms on the boy's shoulders. “Hey, what's everyone talking about?” The blond asked.

Nico let out a groan when he saw the looks on the two girls' faces. Jason was not helping his case. There was nothing going on, nor was there a potential for something to happen, they needed to see that. Letting out a breath, Nico shrugged Jason's arms off of him. “We were discussing guys.”

Jason grinned and sat at the only available chair left at the table. “Oh yeah?” He beamed over at Rachel, pointing at Nico. “Anyone in mind for the lucky stud here?”

“Please don't call me that,” Nico mumbled, shooting a glare at his roommate.

Rachel nodded, trying to hide her grin. “Yep, we sure have. We've got a real hot man in mind for Nico.”

Jason grinned and wrapped his arm around Nico's shoulders. “Awesome! Well, maybe you guys can plan it out and let me know, I'll be happy to get this one out to go on any date you can line up for him.” The blond ignored the death glare that his roommate was currently giving him. “But I think we're gonna head out, I'm feeling pretty tired.”

Rachel faked a cough, mumbling, “Told you.”

Nico rolled his eyes and pushed his chair back before getting to his feet. Annabeth stood up and hugged him with a smile. “Always feel free to call or text me if you need to talk,” she whispered.

Nico gave a small nod before going over to Rachel and giving her a short hug. Nico began to move over to the bar to pay, but Jason grabbed the back of his shirt and dragged him out the door. “Um, I sort of need to pay my bill.”

The blond simply shrugged. “Don't worry, I took care of it for you.”

“I can take care of my own meals,” the brown-eyed boy mumbled.

If only to annoy Nico more, Jason said, “'Thank you, Jason, that was so thoughtful of you.'” It was a horrible impersonation of Nico, it sounded nothing like him. “No problem at all, buddy, always happy to do something nice for you.”

Nico rolled his eyes. “Thank you Jason,” he grumbled. He sighed when Jason slung an arm around him. “I can't believe you're tired, it's still early.”

“Oh, I'm not.” Nico looked up in confusion. The blond smiled and unlocked his car, opening the door for Nico to climb in. “But I thought I'd let you off easy, as a sign of good faith for indulging me by coming out tonight.”

“I...” Nico pursed his lips before frowning. “Thanks,” he muttered.

“Don't mention it.”

Nico slid into the passenger seat and Jason jogged around to the other side of the car. Now that Rachel had pointed things out, Nico was beginning to become much more aware of how they actually acted around each other. Had they always been like this?

The boy quickly shook his head. This was crazy. If he kept thinking about it, Rachel was going to win. It worked like a placebo. She put the thought there, and now Nico wanted to analyze his and Jason's every move.

Jason apparently caught him staring. Taking his eyes briefly off the road, the blond glanced over at him. “What?”

“Nothing,” Nico mumbled and looked out the window. Letting out a breath, he shifted in his seat to face Jason again. “Am I setting my standards too high? Am I in the wrong here?”

Jason's eyebrows rose as the blond watched the road in front of them. “Um, no?” He quickly glanced at Nico again. “I'm assuming you mean about dating?” Nico gave a nod. “I think you should be with someone that makes you happy, someone that you don't feel like you are settling for.”

“Thanks,” Nico whispered. He leaned his elbow against his door and glanced back out the window. Without really thinking about it, Nico began to chew on his thumbnail. “It's just...none of them have really made me happy. I never really...felt a spark with them.” He frowned over at Jason. “Am I being dumb for trying to find another spark on my first kiss with a guy? Percy and I just clicked so well, he made me happy and I felt safe with him. I felt whole when I was with him, and all he had to do was smile at me to make my heart race.”

“I don't think you're dumb,” Jason replied. Though he did not look at Nico again, the blond smiled. “I think it's nice to keep hoping for something like that.”

“Yeah.” Nico chewed on his lip. “But, I mean, I just...don't want to let go.”

“I don't think it's about letting go. I think it's about accepting that he'll always be with you, and be a part of you and your life. I don't think it's about trying to replace him. If any guy wanted to replace Percy, I think he's the wrong guy for you.” Jason frowned at the road. “And if that ever happens, give me their name and I'll go kick their ass.”

Nico actually smiled at that, his eyes watching the lights as they drove. Jason could get on his nerves sometimes, but the guy had a good heart and Nico was glad to have the guy around, though he'd never admit that to Jason's face.

Later that night, Nico found himself with a pencil in his hand and his sketchbook in his lap. His eyes kept roaming between the paper and the blond that stood at the railing of their tiny balcony in their apartment. Nico inhabited one of the two chairs they had, his legs pulled up to act as an easel. He wasn't really sure when he had started. In all honesty, Nico had not realized he had been sketching the blond until he was nearly finished.

Jason lifted a half-finished bottle of green apple Smirnoff that Rachel had left at their apartment three weekends ago. Nico lightly chewed on his lip as he watched the blond under the moonlight. His eyes wandered down to where he had been drawing and the raven-haired boy slowly began to tap his pencil against the sketchbook, deep in thought.

“So,” Jason began, sitting down in the chair next to Nico, “what do you look for in a guy?”

Nico rolled his eyes. Jason and Rachel really needed to ease up on trying to find him someone. Nico would be fine without a man in his life. Nico let out a sigh and pressed his sketchbook against his chest, sliding his pencil into the small placeholder he had for it on the top of his sketchbook.

“I don't know,” Nico whispered. His eyes roamed around the night sky and scanned the buildings that surrounded their apartment. “Someone romantic, but doesn't try to be. A dork that is sweet by being a dork.” Nico chewed lightly on his lip, brushing some of his hair out of his eyes. “A smile that can make me feel warm inside. Someone brave and strong, someone that can be everything that I'm not.” It hurt talking about it, because even though Nico knew deep down it would never be the case, he felt like he was trying to replace Percy. “Someone that can make me laugh. Someone easy to get along with.”

The blond chuckled. “That's quite the list.”

Nico let out a breath. “Someone that I can just watch a movie with, while listening to them rant about the stupid fish in the movie.”

“That one might be hard.”

“Okay, but you get my point.” The two smiled at each other. “Percy was my hero, always was, ever since we were little.” Nico's shoulders slumped, a sad look slowly filling his eyes. “I don't know, I guess I just want someone like...” He slowly looked over at the blond next to him and stopped, his lips parted slightly, his next words lost on him.

It was very bright out tonight, and the moon hit Jason just right. Nico's heart skipped a beat upon looking at him. The blond wasn't really paying attention to him, too busy watching a moth that was flying just above their balcony. It gave Jason a very child-like quality to his facial features. But Nico just sat there, frozen, his eyes wide in awe.

When Jason noticed Nico's silence, the blond looked over. “You okay?” Nico still did not answer. The blond quickly reached up and touched his cheek. “Is there something on my face?”

That snapped Nico out of it and he took in a breath, quickly shaking his head. “No, um, it's nothing.” He cleared his throat and looked away. “It's...nothing.”

Oh, Nico thought.

Jason quirked a brow before climbing to his feet. “There's two more Smirnoffs in the fridge, want one?”

Nico quickly shook his head. Jason shrugged and slipped back inside. Nico let out a sigh and leaned his head back against his chair. He proceeded to chew on his lip, his eyes darting around as they stared up at the sky.

“Maybe someone like you,” Nico whispered to himself.


	3. Paint Me Like One of Your French Girls

The sound of rain woke Nico up early on a Saturday morning. He opened his eyes for a brief second before realizing that it was still too bright in the room. Where were his dark curtains? Taking in a deep breath, Nico sat up, only to find an arm splayed across his chest. His mind was still cloudy with sleep as his eyes followed the arm up to the blond head of hair of his roommate.

Jason was still asleep, and peacefully so. Short breaths came out from the blond's slightly parted lips. It wasn't very common that Nico slept in Jason's bed, or vice versa, mainly whenever Nico had a nightmare about the shooting. They still felt very real to him, but Nico no longer had Percy as a source of comfort. The first time it had happened had been shortly after they had moved in together, and Jason had come running into Nico's room.

Jason had stayed up and talked with him for nearly an hour before they had both fallen asleep in Nico's bed. After that, Jason had told Nico that if he ever needed him, Nico could always come to his room and sleep. It seemed a little childish, but Nico still found himself taking the blond up on the offer.

Nico rubbed his arm as his eyes drifted down Jason's bare torso. The sheets had partially fallen off the blond, possibly due to Nico hogging most of them during the night. It had been a little over three months since Rachel made her assessment that Nico and Jason should bang, and now Nico found it very hard not to see Jason in a new light.

He needed to get up, but he was so tired. Time for coffee. Rubbing his eyes, Nico slipped out of bed and stretched. Jason rolled onto his side, a frown appearing on his lips. Nico smiled at him for a second before leaving the room to start the coffee.

Jason appeared in the kitchen when Nico was pouring himself a fresh cup of coffee. The blond let out a loud yawn and scratched the back of his head. Nico quickly averted his gaze as he realized the blond still had not put on a shirt.

“Morning,” Jason said, smiling at the brown-eyed boy. Nico would never understand how Jason could be so happy in the mornings.

Nico grunted as he raised the mug to his lip. Jason continued to smile at him as he sat across from Nico at their kitchen island. It had not taken the blond very long to learn not to overwhelm Nico with conversation or happiness after just waking up in the mornings. Placing the mug in front of him, Nico rubbed his face, enjoying the smell of his coffee.

Jason had made himself a bowl of cereal. As Nico watched the blond eat, he couldn't help but be reminded of a child. Jason even had the messy hair to back it up. “You sleep okay?” Jason mumbled between bites.

“Yeah,” Nico whispered, rubbing his arm. “Thanks again.”

Jason smiled around a spoonful of his cereal. He raised a brow at Nico while he swallowed his food. “Got anything planned today?”

Nico rubbed his head with a groan. Indeed he did. “Yeah.” He took another sip of coffee. “I have an assignment due on Monday, but I sort of missed class.”

“Again?” Jason did not seem pleased with this news. It's true, Nico did sometimes have a habit of being lazy with school related things. But, in all honesty, he thought he had been doing much better. “What's the project and why is it a problem you missed?”

Chewing on his lip, Nico looked up at Jason from behind his bangs. “I sort of missed having a model for a painting I need to do.” He just shook his head, rubbing his arm. “It's not a big deal, I'll just forget about this assignment and do better for the next one.”

“Why can't you just find someone to model for you?”

Here was the awkward part. “Well, um, it's sort of...nude. And I haven't been able to reach any of the models we use for class.”

That had put a blush on the blond's cheek. “Oh,” he mumbled, looking back down at his breakfast.

“Yeah,” Nico sighed, scratching his head. “Like I said, not a big deal.”

They went on with their breakfast in silence after that. Jason ended up turning on the TV to watch some cartoon, which Nico said was juvenile. Jason just grinned at him and turned back to the cartoon. Nico eyed the pot of coffee for a moment, debating another cup, when Jason spoke again.

“I could...do it for you.”

Nico blinked. He wasn't sure if he had just heard his friend correctly. “What?” He said eloquently.

A faint blush appeared on the blond's cheeks as he attempted to drink the leftover milk in his bowel. “I mean, you need to get this project done, and I don't want your grades to suffer.”

Nico held up his hand to get his roommate to pause their conversation. He definitely needed another cup of coffee if they were going to have this conversation. As he poured it, the boy shook his head. “You did hear the part about it being a nude modeling, right?”

Jason looked down at his empty bowl. “I just don't want your grades to suffer.” He looked up at the brown-eyed boy with a frown. “It doesn't have to be weird, I trust you to be professional. And you've seen my butt before.”

Nico leaned forward with a groan, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “That was back when we just got in high school, Jason,” the boy groaned. “And I didn't even really see anything, I looked away as fast as I could.” He shook his head. “Why did you even let Percy talk you into streaking across the baseball field during practice?”

The blond pouted. “I never heard you complain about seeing his butt. I guess mine just isn't good enough.” Nico glared at him. He was not going to have this conversation. Jason just grinned. “Come on, it won't be that bad. Besides, I'm the one having to get undressed here.”

Nico let out a sigh, surrendering. “Fine, fine. Whatever.” He took a long sip of his black coffee. “Just...later. I still need to wake up more before I can draw anything.”

They ended up moving to the living room, so that Jason could continue watching his cartoons. In all honesty, Nico was not sure how he felt about this arrangement. It was good that he was getting to complete his project, but he feared how awkward it might be between them while Nico was drawing. He was not sure Jason realized he would have to remain completely still while Nico worked, which meant Jason was going to have to stay exposed the entire time. On the other hand, Nico's fantasies would now have the real thing to work with whenever they decided to betray Nico by sending the boy perverted thoughts about his friend.

Nico found it hard to watch the cartoons, due to his own thoughts. He kept looking over at the blond. He was definitely uncomfortable about this. But whenever Jason laughed at the TV, Nico found himself smiling a little. He needed to talk to someone about this. Not Rachel. Never Rachel.

“My sister's having a party next weekend,” Jason brought up out of nowhere. Nico turned his head towards the blond. “She wanted to make sure you were invited.”

“Parties really aren't my thing,” Nico mumbled.

The blond smiled. “I know, I told her you might say no. But everyone else should be there, and it would be nice if you could go. You don't see your friends enough.”

“Okay, Mom,” Nico grumbled. He sighed. “I'll think about it. If I don't have too much work to deal with.”

“Come on,” Jason whined, leaning in until his head fell on Nico's shoulder. The shorter boy glared at his head. “It'll be fun. Besides, I'm sure there will be some cute guys there.”

Nico had to take in a deep breath to keep from shoving the blond away and going to his room. “And when are you going to start dating again?”

Jason sat up and tilted his head to the side. “I don't know, eventually. I guess I just haven't found the time to think about dating.” The blond smiled, making Nico's heart beat faster. “Got to make sure you're taken care of.”

He knew Jason didn't mean it badly, but it still stung a little. Nico didn't want to feel like a burden. Jason had already turned back to his cartoons, so he never saw the hurt look on Nico's face. Nico pursed his lips when the blond's head fell in his lap. He sighed. “You really are a child,” Nico mumbled.

Jason turned his head to grin innocently up at Nico before rolling his head back towards the television and engrossing himself in his show. Nico shook his head as his fingers slowly reached up and massaged the blond's hair.

A few hours and a couple of shots of tequila later, Nico was finishing setting up his easel for painting Jason. He pulled a small table to the side of it and sat his paints there. He found himself chewing on his lip as he waited for his roommate to come into their living room. He was so not ready for this.

Jason eventually entered the room in a pair of sweatpants. He took in a deep breath and smiled at Nico. Nico had him go sit down on the couch and get comfortable. But first he needed to get Jason into a position they were both happy with. “I, um, won't force you to show you're, um...” Nico fumbled, motioning to Jason's lower half, “crotch.”

“Thanks,” Jason mumbled with a small smile.

Nico placed a sheet he had gotten from his room on the couch. “We'll use this to keep that covered.” He tapped a finger against his thigh. “How about...on your stomach?”

Jason held the sheet up to him. “You want me to put it on my stomach?”

Nico felt his cheeks go hot. “Um, no, I mean for you to lay on your stomach. I'll deal with the sheets.”

Jason nodded. Nico averted his gaze as the blue-eyed boy stood up in front of him and dropped his sweatpants. Once again, Nico's face felt hot. Jason was now naked, directly in front of him. He was not sure he was going to be able to actually look, much less focus on his work.

Taking in a deep breath, Nico put on a serious face and turned back to the blond. He tried not to let his eyes linger too long on one place. Jason had a nice body. A very nice body. His build reminded Nico a lot of Percy's, though not as tan.

This was Nico's biggest fear. He did not want to compare Jason to Percy. Neither boy deserved that.

Rubbing his forehead, Nico tried to evaluate the best pose to put the blond in. While the blond was soft, he definitely did not appear to be small down there. Seeing his friend's red face, Jason took a little pity on him. He rubbed the back of his neck with a smile. “You okay, Nico? If you're too uncomfortable-”

“No.” Nico quickly shook his head. “I'm fine.” He blew out a breath. He turned Jason slightly. “You have a nice back.” He already knew this, since Nico had seen the blond shirtless many times over the years. “Um, yeah, I think laying you on your stomach would be best.”

“Okay,” Jason said with a nod.

In all honesty, Nico barely acknowledged that Jason had said anything at all. He was finding it very hard not to reach out and touch the blond's chest. He silently wondered about how Jason would feel about letting him put paint on his body. He could probably manage passing it off as something creative and artistic.

Jason laid down, but Nico wasn't happy with it. He directed Jason to put the arm farthest from where Nico would be standing underneath him, so that Jason's cheek would rest against the back of his hand. Nico curved the leg that would be on the side he would be painting from, and ended up forcing the blond to lay his feet flat. Reaching down, Nico took the blond's hand and draped over the side of the couch, letting it dangle in the air.

For a second, Nico took a step back and evaluated the blond. Firstly, Jason did have a nice butt. Sculpted like a statue, though it was less tan than the rest of his body. Jason's whole body was rather smooth, save for the hair under his arms, the fine blond hairs on his arm, and the small amount around his crotch. If Nico didn't know any better, he'd say Jason had trimmed down there.

Narrowing his eyes, he leaned to the side to catch the blond's gaze. “Did you manscape for this?”

Judging from the blush he got, Nico knew he already had his answer. “I...just... I mean, no.”

Nico let out a sigh, rolling his eyes. “You're such a girl.” But he figured this was already hard enough for the blond, so he decided not to torture his friend any more. He grabbed the sheet from the foot of the couch and put it just below the blond's butt, letting it curve across Jason's thighs and hang off the edge of the couch.

Content with the pose, Nico moved back over to his easel. He scrunched his lips as he readied his brush, looking the blond over again. He tilted his head to the side when he realized what felt off. “Can you, um, look...sexy.” His cheeks turned pink. “Um, you know, give me a look like you want me.”

Jason chuckled, but didn't move. “Do you just want me to stare at you like that?”

He knew Jason was just teasing him, but it didn't make it any less embarrassing. If Jason only knew the half of it, Nico thought to himself. But, instead of commenting, Nico just began to fill in the background for the painting.

He didn't have too much trouble, until he had to start on Jason's body. Mainly around the face. Nico found it very hard to breathe when he looked at Jason's eyes. The blond's stare felt very intense. When Nico got a little paint on his face, Jason grinned. Nico chastised him about not moving, which Jason apologized for.

As he started to detail the blond's body, Nico moved to sit close to the couch. The room felt very warm as Nico's brush swept across the canvas. Jason smiled at him again. They weren't that far apart now, and it made it very hard for Nico to concentrate. He sighed when he noticed that some of Jason's little movements had caused the sheets to fall off of him a little.

Nico reached up to adjust them, which ended up with his hand brushing against the blond's butt. It wasn't the first time he had felt his roommate's skin, but it was the first time that Nico truly admired how soft Jason's skin was. And warm.

When Nico was finally done, Jason sat up, the sheets bunched up his lap, while Nico let him look at the painting. Nico wanted to make sure that Jason was happy with it. Or, more importantly, comfortable with the pose Nico had put him in. While he knew the class was professional, Nico wanted to make sure Jason was okay with his bare ass on display for the rest of his class.

Jason smiled and nodded. “It looks really good, Nico.” He leaned forward. “You should draw people more often, they always look so lifelike.”

“Thanks,” Nico mumbled. He rubbed at his brow. “Um, do you mind if I just do a simple sketch?”

Jason's eyebrows rose at that. “You mean, like another one for class?”

Nico slowly shook his head, finding it hard to look at the blond. “Um, no, I just feel like drawing.” He cleared his throat. “And, well, I think you make a good model.” He used the dull side of his brush to point at Jason's torso. “You have a nice physique.”

The blond chuckled and rubbed the back of his head. “I'll take that as a compliment. Maybe I should volunteer for your class, get some extra cash out of it.” Nico wasn't sure how he felt about that. A tiny surge of jealousy coursed through him momentarily, not wanting to share Jason's actual body with anyone else in his class. “I'm just happy you are feeling inspired again,” Jason continued.

Rubbing at his brow, Nico sat down on the floor after putting his finished painting to the side. Nico was technically done, but Jason had yet to realize that he could put sweatpants back on. And who was Nico to correct the blond?

Dipping his hand into the black paint, Nico reached up and used his index and middle fingers to brush it against the right side of Jason's face. The blond blinked at him, but didn't say anything. Nico's eyes lingered on his roommate's chest. Did he want to try to be that brave?

He did.

Nico reached a shaky hand out and smeared the black paint across Jason's torso in random places. He found his fingers lingering against Jason's lean stomach. Maybe Rachel was right? Nico looked up at the blond, who was smiling innocently down at him.

Jason didn't seem to be bothered by this at all. Would Jason have sex with him if Nico asked him to? Would Jason be with him if it was what Nico wanted?

Nico quickly shook his head of those thoughts. Not the time or place, he reminded himself.

Feeling content, Nico sat back and picked up his sketchbook. Jason just sat there with the sheets spread across his lap as Nico sketched out everything from the waist up. Every now and then, Nico would brush his fingers across the page to smear some of the black lines. He reached up to rub his nose, which caused Jason to laugh.

“What?” Nico asked with a glare.

The blond leaned forward and wiped at the boy's nose. “You sure are messy when you draw.”

“Shut up.” Nico smacked the blond's hand away. “Now hold still, I'm nearly done.”

When it was over, Nico politely averted his gaze for Jason to get dressed. And, after that, Jason just went on with their evening like nothing had ever happened. He got out a drink and sat down on the couch, even asked Nico what movie he wanted to watch. Nico wasn't sure what he'd prefer: Jason being uncomfortable around Nico being gay, or the fact that Jason was completely comfortable with even getting naked for Nico to draw.

It definitely did not make things easy.

\--------------------

Thalia always kept the music loud during her parties. Ever since Jason's sister had moved into her apartment, the girl had ended up getting a new neighbor every time the lease needed renewal. This party wasn't as packed as some of her other ones, which Jason was thankful for. He had been afraid Nico would have turned around and left if there had been so many people there that they couldn't even fit through the door. Luckily, though, the party mainly consisted of people Jason knew.

As soon as they got to the party, though, Nico had left Jason to go talk to Annabeth. The blond had yet to see the brown-eyed boy since. Unfortunately, he did end up stumbling across the last person that he wanted to see.

“Well, well, Jason Grace, what a pleasure to see you here,” came a soothing, and slightly irritating, female voice behind him.

The blond turned around with a sigh, lifting a beer to his lips. “Drew,” he mumbled. “What do you want?”

The girl moved forward and placed a hand on Jason's shoulder. “Just to talk, of course.” Jason narrowed his eyes. He met Drew shortly after he had started college, and the girl had instantly tried to get into his pants. “Unless you had other things in mind. Have you ditched the little kid?”

He needed a deep breath in order to deal with this. Or some more alcohol. “Nico's our age, Drew.”

“Whatever.” The girl rolled her eyes. “I swear that kid wants to suck your dick, or something.”

Jason brushed the girl's hand off of him. “Don't talk about him like that, he's my friend.”

A dry laugh escaped her mouth, which only annoyed Jason more. “Please, you could do so much better than hanging around the likes of him.” She bit down on her lip, holding her drink off to the side. “You know, we could always go find a room and you can tell me what you think of this flavored lip gloss that I'm using.”

Taking a moment to choose his words, Jason took another drink. “I'd really rather not.”

The Asian girl drew back, offended. “What, you'd rather go make out with zombie-looking brat?”

The blond raised his brows. “Well, yeah, kind of.”

The girl sneered at him before walking off. Unfortunately, Jason didn't get a moment to rest. His sister came up and slung an arm around him. “I always knew you batted for the other team, little bro.” It was funny, since Thalia barely came up to Jason's chin. “I guess Silena owes me five bucks.”

Jason's brow furrowed. “What?” He shook his sister off of him. “I didn't mean literally make out with Nico. I just wanted Drew to leave me alone.” He went to take another sip, but Thalia took it away from him. “Hey, I wasn't finished with that.”

“Yeah, well, your roommate is getting kind of shit-faced right now.” Jason went to look around, but Thalia pulled him down by the collar. “Seriously, though, you don't bat for the other team.”

Frowning, Jason brushed his sister off. “Why does my sexuality suddenly fascinate you so much?”

“Because I want that five bucks.”

The blond shook his head. “Have you seen Nico?”

Thalia grinned at him. “This is why I question it. Rachel and I have this theory that you'd bang Nico if he asked you to.”

Jason felt his cheeks heat up. “What the hell, Thalia?” He shook his head and ran a hand through his hair. “Nico would never ask me something like that.”

The girl grinned up at him. “But would you?”

He rolled his eyes. “I really don't want to think about my friend like that.” He looked around again. “Have you seen Frank or Leo?”

Thalia motioned over her shoulder. “Frank's with Hazel. I think I saw Leo with Travis and Connor in the kitchen.”

He gave her a nod before heading off in that direction. He really wanted something else to drink right now, but if Nico was drinking, Jason would have to be responsible and go without for the rest of the night. But how bad could Nico really be? The few times Jason had seen him drink, Nico usually cut himself off when he began to get tipsy.

Sure enough, Jason found Leo in the kitchen, munching on some brownies. Seeing them only made the blond want some as well. And, as a best friend should, Leo offered him one without Jason even having to ask.

Right before he put it in his mouth, Jason pulled it back and looked at it. “You and the Stolls didn't...put anything in it, did you?”

Leo scowled at him. “Do I look like Juniper or Grover. Didn't touch them. Though, the Stolls did take some to toss at some people down on the streets.” Figures, Jason thought. Leo grinned at him. “You don't look drunk at all? We did spike the punch, if you want some of that.”

Jason just shook his head fondly. “I'm okay, man.” He leaned against the counter that Leo was in front of. “Been a long week.”

“So, word around the group is that Nico drew you naked.”

He nearly choked on his brownie. “What?” He practically shouted. “Who told you that?”

“No one.” Leo blinked a few times. “Rachel's in Nico's art class. She also said you have a nice butt, apparently.” The Hispanic boy grinned at the dark color that filled the blond's cheek. “So, did you have your way with him and get kinky with the paints?”

“This isn't happening,” Jason moaned into his hands. “Why does everyone think I should, or would, bang Nico?”

“Would you?”

Jason frowned and bit off another chunk of his brownie. “I don't know, man. Nico's too respectful to ask for something like that.”

Leo grinned mischievously at him. “Would you date him?”

“I really wish I could have some more alcohol for this conversation.” Jason rubbed the back of his neck, not meeting Leo's gaze. “I don't know, man. I mean, I believe in loving someone that makes you happy. If that someone for me was a guy, or Nico, then I guess I'd give it a shot. As long as I'm happy, you know?”

The other boy nodded, deciding to show Jason some mercy. “Eh, I feel you, dude. Sadly, there is no man or woman alive that can handle all that is Leo.”

Jason found himself chuckling at that. “I thought you started talking to that girl in-”

“Nope.” But Leo's pink cheeks said otherwise. “You, my good sir, must be mistaken. I would kindly advice you remove such slander from this conversation immediately.”

“Yeah, okay, whatever,” Jason said with a roll of his eyes. He grinned at his best friend. “Well, when you decide to admit things to the rest of us, feel free to introduce me to her.” He took in a deep breath and glanced out into the living room. “I seriously don't understand why everyone suddenly thinks Nico and I are going to have sex or date.”

Leo gave a casual shrug. “Well, you do look after him a lot, let him sleep in your bed, and you can be very touchy with him.”

“Am not!”

“You had his feet in your lap the last time I came over to watch a movie,” Leo grumbled. Jason pursed his lips. “My point. And now you're letting him draw you naked. Did you ask him to paint you like one of his French girls.”

Jason groaned and let his head fall back. “I can't believe I didn't think of that one!”

Leo tutted under his breath. “You shame me, young padawan.”

Jason leaned on his hand. “Well, I'm pretty sure Drew won't be helping things. I just told her that I'd rather kiss Nico than her.”

Leo grinned with a nod. “Dude, I bet he's pretty kinky in bed.” Jason gave a groan. “Okay, seriously, Jason, it's not really that big a deal. No judgment from me.”

A little close to midnight, Jason finally found Nico with Annabeth and Rachel. The boy lay on his side on the edge of Thalia's bed. His eyes lazily watched the two girls play a game. The blond crouched down in front of Nico and the boy grinned at him.

“'S you!” Nico bit down on his lip to contain a grin. “Hi!”

Jason shook his head with a smile. He looked up at the two girls. “How much has he had?”

Annabeth paused the game and glanced down at the boy on the bed. “Well, quite a bit, actually.”

Jason looked back at Nico with wide eyes. The boy pouted. “I can't hold it as well as Rachel.” He reached out, his hand finding a hard time to grasp Jason. Eventually, the blond took pity on him and leaned in. Nico pulled him closer. “Don't ever let her talk you into a drinking game,” the brown-eyed boy attempted to whisper.

Rachel snorted and flexed. “Yep, poor boy didn't stand a chance.”

The blond's eyebrows slowly rose as Nico's hand patted his face. He turned back to his friend with a smile. “You're eyes are pretty, like the sky.”

Jason couldn't help it, he smiled a little bigger. “I think we need to get you home.”

“Don't wanna,” Nico pouted.

Jason chuckled. He looked up at Annabeth with a sigh. “Do you mind helping me get him to the car?” Standing up, Jason leaned down to scoop the smaller boy up in his arms. “Just grab the doors for me.”

Annabeth nodded and held the bedroom door open for the tall blond. Once they were outside, Annabeth smiled at them. “He'll probably be miserable in the morning.” When they reached Jason's car, Annabeth stopped the tall boy. “Thank you.”

Jason blinked. “For what?”

“Taking care of him.” The girl slipped her hands into her pockets. “I don't think he would have done as well if he didn't have you there.” She gave him a small nod. “He sort of shut the rest of us out for a while, so I appreciate you sticking it out with him.”

Jason looked down at the boy in his arms, who was too busy looking up at the night sky with his mouth open to pay attention. He shook his head. “Don't worry about it. I just want him to be happy.”

Annabeth slowly nodded. “I think your friendship has been good for him.” She raised a brow when Jason just gave a nod. “You have been good for him.” Jason still felt lost. She shook her head with a sigh. “Just...take care of him.”

Jason gave a nod as the girl walked back to his sister's apartment. He blinked and looked down at the boy in his arms again before placing Nico into the back seat, letting him lay down. Though, Nico held on tight, which gave Jason a little trouble in prying the boy's hands off. He chuckled when Nico attempted to reach for him before shutting the door and running around to get into the driver's seat.

On the way home, Jason got to listen to a variety of topics from the younger boy. Some of which included: Nico's first time visiting Italy, Jason's clothing choices, and bits and pieces of Nico's first time with Percy. Jason ended up having to cut the boy off during the last one, as he was not sure Nico would want to share that information sober.

“You smell nice,” Nico commented when Jason tried to get the boy out of the car upon arriving at their apartment.

Jason chuckled. “I probably smell like cigarettes and alcohol, Nico.”

“Warm,” Nico mumbled, nuzzling against the blond's shoulder. Jason had never seen him so affectionate before.

Once up in their apartment, Jason placed Nico on the couch while he got out of his own shoes and put his keys and wallet up. After that was done, Jason scooped Nico back up and carried the boy to his room. Nico's room was dark enough during the day, but it was nearly impossible to see anything at all in the room during the night.

After nearly stumbling in the dark, Jason found the light and carried Nico over to his bed. Nico looked around with wide eyes. “When did we get home?” The boy gasped. “What about the party?”

Jason chuckled. “I think you've had enough party to last you a while there, buddy.”

Nico's hand fumbled around until it could manage to grasp Jason. The blond shook his head and helped Nico sit up. He knelt down and slipped his roommate out of his shoes. “You have a really nice butt.” Nico's eyes went wide, as did Jason's. The blond looked up in shock. Nico quickly waved a hand in front of his face. “But don't tell Jason I said that. It wouldsh be embarrassing.”

Jason just sort of sat there, frozen. His cheeks heated up as he tossed the boy's shoes to the side. “You really had too much to drink,” the blond mumbled.

“No!” Nico practically giggled. He fell back on the bed and Jason let out a sigh. He attempted to get the boy to sit back up, but Nico merely pulled him down on the bed. “Hi.” Nico smiled up at him.

“We need to get you to bed,” Jason said seriously. He cleared his throat and got off of the boy beneath him, well aware that Nico's hands were wandering underneath his shirt. His face felt red. “You're not thinking clearly tonight.”

He finally got Nico to sit up. He looked down at the boy with a sigh. Nico always wore tight jeans, which could not be comfortable to sleep in. Hopefully, Nico would not murder him for getting his shirt and jeans off. Jason slowly lifted the hem of Nico's shirt over his head.

When it was off, Jason was surprised by Nico leaning in to press their lips together. He just sort of stood there for a moment, stunned. He didn't know what to do with his hands, so they just sort of hovered there on either side of Nico. But the boy clung to him passionately and attempted to deepen the kiss. Jason pressed his lips out to kiss the boy back for a brief second without thinking before pushing Nico away from him.

Clearing his throat, Jason held the brown-eyed boy out in front of him. He hadn't meant to kiss Nico back, but he also didn't want to upset Nico. A couple of years ago, Jason had found Nico during the first time that the boy had ever drank anything. Still depressed over the loss of Percy, Nico had been very upset that night, which resulted in Jason hiding all of the boy's alcohol. He had been afraid that Nico might cut himself. While Nico seemed happy tonight, Jason didn't want to chance Nico falling into another depressive state while drunk.

“You taste like brownies,” Nico whispered with a lazy smile. Letting out a yawn, the boy fell back on the bed. Jason chewed on his lip before getting Nico out of his jeans and putting his roommate under the covers. But, before Jason could leave, Nico grabbed his hand. Jason looked down at him with concern. “Don't go.”

Jason's heart melted. Nico seemed so sad when he said it. He glanced back to the doorway briefly before nodding. “Just let me turn out the lights, okay?” Nico gave a nod and Jason slipped out of the room.

After turning off the lights in the kitchen and hallway, the blond stopped by his room to change into a pair of cotton shorts. After putting them on, he sort of stood there for a moment, chewing on his bottom lip. What was he doing? Did Nico like him as more than a friend? And what about him? Everyone already seemed to think that Jason would be with Nico if the boy asked. Would he?

Standing in the doorway of Nico's room, the blond watched his friend sleep. The boy looked so peaceful as he lay there. He had never really thought himself opposed to the idea of being with a guy, but he had honestly never thought about Nico in that way. Nico had always just been his friend. And after losing Percy, Jason had just concerned himself with taking care of Nico. Maybe that did mean something. He did care about Nico.

And Percy was still a big factor. Jason wasn't sure if Nico was ready to move on. His attempts to find Nico someone in the past had all been futile. But maybe they just weren't what Nico was looking for. Then was he? Or was he just a replacement for Percy? And Leo and Thalia's conversations with him kept playing through his mind again. The big question that he still was not sure he had an answer to.

If Nico asked, would Jason be with him?


	4. All Wounds Will Eventually Heal

It was a little after nine when Nico stumbled his way into the kitchen. Jason looked up from his cup of coffee with a slight frown. He hadn't slept much last night, and eventually he had just gotten out of bed to watch some TV. The blond was now on his third cup of coffee.

He had been trying to clear his head and think, but the sight of Nico coming into the kitchen in one of Jason's old shirts made it rather difficult. Jason's brow furrowed. He must have left that in there from a past night. Either way, Jason had to quickly avert his gaze as Nico walked by him. The boy also had not put on any shorts. It was that or Jason's shirt was hiding them.

Jason's cheeks tinged pink as he witnessed Nico reach up into a cabinet for his cereal box, which had exposed his red boxer-briefs to Jason's eyes. Okay, so Nico was definitely not wearing shorts. Nico smiled lazily at Jason as he poured himself a bowl of cereal. From the way Nico would occasionally rub his head, Jason could only assume Nico had a slight hangover. Which meant that Nico probably didn't remember the events of last night.

Without thinking about it, Jason's blue eyes followed Nico's form across the room, watching as the boy sat down on the couch. The TV was turned on a second later. The blond rubbed his face as Nico tried to find something to watch. As much as Nico probably deserved to know what had happened, Jason wasn't sure he was ready to have the talk just yet. Perhaps the events of last night were better off forgotten.

“Jason?”

The blond blinked and looked up, only to find his roommate staring at him in concern. “I'm sorry, did you say something?”

Nico let out a sigh. “I said, do you want to watch cartoons?”

With a lopsided grin, Jason got up from his bar stool. “You're actually offering to let me watch cartoons?”

“There's nothing to watch,” Nico mumbled, rolling his eyes. The blond plopped down beside him, grinning as he immediately swapped to his desired channel. “I feel like shit.”

“You had a lot to drink last night.”

“It was all Rachel's fault,” the raven-haired boy groaned. Jason's face heated up as the boy fell over on Jason's shoulder. Gulping, the blond looked down. Nico calmly ate the rest of his cereal, his eyes glued to the TV. “I feel sick.”

He felt of Nico's head. “You feel fine, probably just need rest.” Placing his mug on the coffee table, Jason reached behind him to grab a small blanket they kept there. Nico narrowed his eyes as Jason draped it over him. “Do you remember anything?”

“Just talking.” Nico set his empty cereal bowl onto the coffee table as well, settling in beside Jason. The blond brushed some of Nico's bangs out of his eyes as the boy rested his head on Jason's shoulder. “I don't even really remember getting home.”

Jason kept telling himself to breath calmly. Perhaps there was some truth to what others said about him and Nico. Maybe they really did act like a couple. Before he realized what he was doing, Jason had laid them both down, so that Nico could rest better. Letting out a sigh, Jason let his arm rest around Nico's waist. What was he supposed to do? Now that it had been pointed out to him, it was all Jason could think about.

After about twenty minutes, Nico's breathing softened. Jason's eyebrows rose as he noted this. Looking down, sure enough, Nico was fast asleep. The blond scrunched his lips as he observed his roommate. When asleep, Nico always looked younger. Not that he didn't always look young, but Nico's features were much softer when he slept.

All of this was brought to a halt when Jason's phone began to ring. Silently cursing under his breath, Jason managed to climb out from behind Nico. He let out a yelp as his foot caught on the blanket and went tumbling to the floor. With a groan, Jason pushed himself up and went to retrieve his phone.

“Yeah?” The blond sighed.

“Jason!” Came Leo's happy voice. “So, how did things go? The word from Rachel is that you got your eyes complimented by the giggly mess that you took home last night.”

Jason sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “I swear, all of you need to find something else to gossip about.”

“Jason, I need you to win me the bet. So, do a guy a favor and go in there and plant one on your roommate.” There was a brief pause. “I mean, unless you already did. Did you take advantage of him?”

“No!” Jason exclaimed. He sighed and sat down on one of the bar stools in the kitchen. “Why are you guys betting on if Nico and I will hook up.”

“Well, technically Annabeth says you're going to date him. Rachel and I are betting on when you'll...you know, see to his overdue needs.”

Letting his head fall back, Jason groaned. “We are not going to talk about this.”

“What happened?”

Jason quickly glanced over at the couch. Not that he could see anything, since he could only see the back of it from where he sat. “He just had a lot to drink, he probably didn't even mean the things he said.” Leaning forward, Jason propped his chin up with his palm. “Well, he kind of said I have a nice butt. And, well, he kind of kissed me.”

There was a pause. Frowning, Jason pulled his phone away to check if Leo was still there. He was. And then, from the other end of the phone, Jason heard laughter. The blond let out a sigh as he buried his face against the counter. This was a nightmare. Why was he friends with Leo again?

“That's awesome, man!” Leo chuckled. “So, did you kiss him back?”

“No—I mean, yes, sort of.” The blond groaned. “I wasn't thinking, it just sort of happened. I didn't mean to kiss him back. I don't even know why I did it.” Sitting up, Jason rubbed his face. “Leo, what do I do?”

“Why is this bothering you? You told me yourself that you wouldn't be opposed to dating a guy?”

A shuffling from the couch caught Jason's attention. “Um, let me call you back,” he said in a hushed tone. Not even waiting for a reply, Jason hung up. Standing up, Jason walked back over to the couch. Nico rolled onto his back and blinked groggily up at him. “You should go back to sleep.”

The boy frowned up at him. Nico stared at him curiously for a long moment. “I'm fine,” the brown-eyed boy finally whispered. He sat up before getting off the couch and walking to his room. “I'm going to get a shower, and then I'm going to go out.”

“Oh.” Jason blinked in confusion as his eyes followed after the boy. Was something wrong? “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” Nico muttered before shutting the bathroom door.

\------------------------

The smell of coffee filled his nose as Nico buried his face in his palms. Annabeth, who sat across from him at the coffee shop, raised an eyebrow as she sipped at her coffee. “I'm an idiot,” Nico groaned, letting his head drop to the table.

“You're not an idiot, you were drunk.”

“Same difference,” Nico hissed. He sat up and picked up his coffee, sipping lightly at it. “I mean, it wasn't bad enough that I had to compliment his ass, I had to go and suck face with him.”

Annabeth rolled her eyes and put her coffee down. “Did he sound mad?”

“No, but Jason doesn't really get mad.” In reality, Jason had never been mad at Nico. Not once. Even when Nico was angry with him about the shooting, Jason took it all quietly. “And why is there a fucking bet circulating about the two of us?”

“Oh.” Annabeth lightly shrugged. “That was sort of Rachel's idea. And, well, from there, Leo and Thalia got involved.”

“You joined them!”

The blonde tilted her head to the side. “Look at it this way, I actually bet that you'd date before you two had sex. At least I have faith in your self-respect.”

The truth was, if Jason wasn't such a good friend to Nico, he probably would have had sex with Jason a long time ago. Jason was the constant in Nico's life, which made him accessible. And when Nico had been severely depressed and coping with alcohol, Jason sort of made it easy to take advantage of. Not that Nico ever did.

And ever since that night on their balcony, Nico could not stop thinking about how much Jason reminded him of Percy. The bright side was that at least Jason wasn't so oblivious. Percy and Nico had been friends for as long as Nico could remember, and Percy still needed a smacking from Annabeth to realize that Nico liked him. But a lot of the qualities were the same, starting with Jason's hero complex. Part of that was what scared Nico so much about these developing feelings. What if he fell for Jason, and something bad happened to take the blond away from him? Jason would be the hero, just like Percy. There was not a doubt in Nico's mind that it wasn't true.

With a heavy intake of coffee, Nico sat back in his seat and sighed. “This is a nightmare. What if he doesn't want to be roommates anymore?”

“Nico,” Annabeth began, reaching across the table to grab his hand, “you need to calm down. Jason is too nice to do something like that. He also isn't homophobic. The guy walks around in a towel and his underwear in front of you, and doesn't even consider that you'd do anything to him. Why would he care if you liked him?”

“It would make things awkward.” Nico chewed on his lip. “He's probably not going to want to touch me now. I've made things awkward between us.”

Annabeth let out a sigh. “You worried about this exact same thing when you first told me about your crush on Percy.”

“I'm sorry about that, by the way.”

The blonde rolled her eyes. “I knew we weren't going to work out, Nico. The guy spent more time with you, plus I didn't have the time for him. Not that it probably would have mattered.” She shook her head and sipped at her coffee. “My point is that Jason isn't going to care. But my advice is to go talk to him about this. If you want to avoid it being awkward, I think you need to get this conversation out of the way. And it's only going to be awkward because I know you'll make it awkward.”

If it weren't true, Nico would have been offended.

Placing her hands on the table, Annabeth pursed her lips. “Look, Nico, I have watched you and Jason for the past few years. I seriously don't think it's going to bother him. In fact, I'd be surprised if he wasn't okay with it, and he might actually consider being more than friends with you. But you won't know if you don't try.”

A groan was the girl's only response. Jason was an understanding guy, Nico knew that. But this wasn't the same as with Percy. It was the fact that Jason was understanding that was the problem. Deep down, Nico knew that Jason probably wouldn't care, but if the blond kept their interactions the same, Nico wasn't sure how he was going to manage surviving.

But perhaps he was just as much to blame. Just earlier, Nico had been sleeping on the blond, but that had been before he woke up to Jason's phone call. And Annabeth was right, Jason had a habit of walking around without that much clothing when they didn't have company over.

Jason just woke up? Just in his boxers. Just out of the shower? Jason would only be in a towel. Needing to look professional for something at school? The blond had no issues with changing in front of Nico for his opinion. Why did Jason have to be so comfortable around Nico? Perhaps that was worse than Jason reacting badly to Nico's news.

But, most of all, Nico was afraid of hearing Jason's response. More than likely, Jason was going to reject him, and tell Nico that he didn't mean anything by the way he acted around Nico. Perhaps Jason would even start trying to mind what he did, which would only be more painful.

Staring down at his coffee, Nico seriously wished it was a bottle of alcohol. No real presence, as long as it was strong. “Can't I just ignore it?”

Annabeth let out a long sigh, her grey eyes glaring at Nico. “Just fucking do it. It won't be that bad, trust me.” Standing up, Annabeth adjusted the small jacket she wore over her shirt. “Nico, you need to get out of this mind set where you believe that you can never be happy again.” She placed a hand on the boy's shoulder. “It's time to move on, but that doesn't mean forgetting about the love you lost. Jason is a good guy, and if he likes you back, then I have no doubt that he will treat you right.”

Nico slowly nodded. He chewed on his lip, his eyes locked on his coffee. “Thanks, Annabeth.”

After Annabeth was gone, Nico stayed at the coffee shop for another ten minutes. He had always best handled his problems by avoiding them, and Nico supposed old habits were hard to break. After he had confessed his feelings for Percy, Nico had avoided his friend for a week before Percy came to Nico's home and confronted the boy. And Nico had done nothing but fumble over his words. It had been so bad that he had only stopped when Percy kissed him.

During that time, Nico tried to run through what he was going to say to Jason. He got some strange looks, as would be imagined for someone that sat in a coffee shop talking to himself. When he finally worked up the courage, Nico slowly made his way back to his and Jason's apartment.

Jason was at their small dining table when Nico got back, hovering over some homework that needed to be finished. When the door closed, Jason blinked up from the table. “Hi,” the blond said softly.

“Hi,” Nico muttered, placing his keys on a small table they kept by the door. Taking in a breath, Nico sat down across from Jason. “Can we talk, or are you busy?”

Jason shrugged and closed his textbook. “Nothing that can't wait. What's up?”

Nico slowly rubbed his palms together. He was not drunk enough for this talk, not that he had anything at all to drink yet. But the alcohol they kept in the fridge was starting to sound very appealing to him. “So, um, I heard the funniest thing while I was having coffee with Annabeth.”

The blond's eyebrows rose. “Oh? What was that?”

The raven-haired boy cleared his throat. “Um, well, they seem to have this weird idea in their head, and basically they, uh, came up with this bet.”

“Oh. That.”

“Yeah,” Nico whispered. “Apparently there's a bet over if we'd have sex. Dumb, right?”

Jason scrunched his lips. “Yeah.” The corners of his lips tilted up. “I mean, it's not like I'd just have sex with you if you asked. Which I know you wouldn't ask that.”

“No, of course not.” Nico cleared his throat and looked away, fully aware of the frown that formed on his roommate's face when he did so. “That would be dumb.” Running a hand through his hair, Nico stood up. “Um, I think I'm going to go lie down.”

Jason stood up as Nico walked towards his room. “Are you okay?”

No, Nico wanted to reply, but he didn't. Jason had only confirmed what he already knew. As Jason called out his name, Nico slammed the door to his room and locked it. Taking in a deep breath, Nico pressed his back to the door. Why was he so stupid? Why did he have to have this type? Why did he have to fall for guys like Jason and Percy?

\-----------------------------

There were two things that gave it away that Nico was mad at Jason. Well, three, if Jason counted the slammed door. When the blond had tried to ask Nico what he wanted for dinner, Jason was met with silence. At the time, Jason had figured Nico might have been taking a nap, but then Nico still didn't answer him when Jason attempted to get him to come eat.

Which was how Jason ended up standing outside his roommate's door with his head pressed against it. “Nico, will you just come out and talk to me?” There wasn't a response. The blond was starting to worry. He had seen enough movies to fear what a prolonged silence might mean.

But what had he done wrong? And Jason knew that it was him that had upset Nico, since he was the last person that Nico had spoken to. He knew Nico would probably kill him for breaking down the door, but the option was starting to sound very appealing right now. And the longer Jason went without getting a response only made it worse.

Which was what brought him to the threat. “Nico, if you don't talk to me, I'm going to break down this door. If you even think about-”

Letting out a yelp, Jason fell to the floor as the door was opened. Nico frowned down at him. “Think about what?” The boy rolled his eyes at the serious look Jason gave him. “Suicide? Do I look like some fifteen year old? I'm not going to fucking kill myself because I got rejected by-”

“What?”

Nico sighed and turned around, walking farther into his room to sit down on his bed. “I really don't feel like talking right now, Jason. I'd rather forget about today and last night all together.”

“Last night?” Jason blinked. “Wait, you remember?”

“No,” Nico confessed, “but I heard you talking on the phone.”

“Oh.” Frowning, the blond rubbed the back of his neck. “I thought you were still asleep.” Jason took a step into the room. “It doesn't bother me that it happened, just so you know. You were drunk. I'm sure it was all just drunk talk.”

Nico remained quiet. Jason blinked. The boy sat on his bed, gripping his sheets tightly. Oh. Well, perhaps it wasn't the alcohol then. There was a look of pain in Nico's dark eyes when he looked up at Jason, it nearly tore out his heart.

“Nico-”

“Don't,” Nico whispered. He looked down, hiding his eyes from Jason's watchful gaze. “Please, just go.”

Jason pursed his lips, but didn't budge from his spot. “Nico, why are you upset? Is it about what I said to you earlier?” Nico gave a small nod. Jason tilted his head to the side. Why was Nico upset about that? “Why? I told you that I wouldn't have sex with you. You're my friend, why would I do that?”

“I know,” Nico sighed. “It's not a big deal. See, the others were wrong. I'm stupid for having feelings for you. I shouldn't, I know that.” The boy shook his head. “You really don't have to say it. I guess they all get to lose the bet.”

Tilting his head to the side, Jason crouched down in front of Nico. “Am I missing something here?” Nico still wouldn't look at him. “Since when is saying you wouldn't fuck your best friend a bad thing? I thought you knew I had too much respect for you to do something like that. You're not the type to just hook up with guys, and I wouldn't want to hurt you like that.”

Nico blinked at him in awe, though Jason could see the beginning signs of tears in the boy's eyes. Crisis narrowly averted. “Oh,” Nico said eloquently. “I-I guess I just didn't think about it like that. You were...just answering my question.”

“Yeah.” The corners of the blond's lips tilted up. “If anyone would win the bet, it would be Annabeth, from what I hear.” Rubbing Nico's head, Jason climbed to his feet.

It took Nico a moment, but his eyes eventually widened. “Wait, what?”

Turning around, Jason scratched his cheek. “Well, yeah. You asked me if I would have sex with you, not if I'd ever consider dating you.” He smiled as Nico's eyes widened. “Were you really that scared of me rejecting you? I feel honored.”

“Shut up, Grace,” Nico muttered, narrowing his eyes. He shook his head. “Why are you so casual about this?”

Jason shrugged. “Well, since I couldn't sleep last night, I sort of found myself putting a lot of thought into this question. And then you ran off earlier, and then ignored me when I was cooking dinner, so it's not like I haven't had time to think about things. My question is: why?”

“Why what?”

Letting out a sigh, Jason licked his lips, motioning to himself. “Why me? We've tried to find you someone for a while now, and you've not been interested in any of them. So, why me?”

It was clear from the boy's expression that he hadn't been expecting Jason to ask that. The kid probably hadn't even considered the possibility of Jason not rejecting him. For as long as he had known Nico, Jason knew that the brown-eyed by self-confidence was never that high.

“I...guess I just have some high standards for what I want in a guy.” Nico gulped and looked up at the blond in front of him, fear clear in his eyes. “It's a dumb thing, since it was some fluke that I even landed Percy in the first place.”

“You shouldn't say that,” Jason whispered.

“I'm scared, okay? I'm scared about even liking you, because the last thing I would want is to like you solely because you share the same qualities as Percy.” Nico chewed on his lip, his knuckles white from gripping the edge of his bed. “But, I mean, that was even if you liked me back. I mean, look at you and then look at me.”

Letting out a breath, Jason took a step towards Nico. “Dude, you're a great guy, you shouldn't beat yourself up. And I don't understand why you think you don't look good.” His lips tilted up in a smirk. “I'd say you're pretty attractive if you can make a supposed straight guy question his sexuality.”

Nico rolled his eyes. “You're such a dork.” The raven-haired boy let out a sigh. “But that's just for starters. What if this is just some phase for you? What if we are just both rebounding? I mean, you haven't really tried to date anyone either since the shooting.” Nico looked down with a frown. “You're a great guy, and sweet. How would anyone not want a guy like that? What if it becomes awkward? Jason, I really don't think we are thinking this-”

Wanting to put an end to his roommate's endless rambles, Jason leaned in and pressed their lips together. A small yelp escaped the smaller youth's mouth as the two tumbled backwards, Jason landing on top of Nico. Jason pressed his hands against the mattress to lift himself off of his friend.

“Sorry,” Jason breathed out, “but you weren't going to shut up.”

“I... Um, you...I—you kissed me!”

A soft chuckle escaped Jason's lips as he sat up. “I see you're observant.” He sighed as Nico sat up beside him. “If I still need to say it, I think I'm willing to give this a try, if you are that is.”

“Yeah,” Nico said breathlessly. He pressed his lips together as he gawked at the blond beside him. “I, um... Can we do that again?”

Smiling, Jason nodded and leaned back in. Their lips met and Jason closed his eyes. He placed a hand on the back of the raven-haired boy's head, drawing him closer. One of Nico's hands came to rest against Jason's chest as their lips moved against each other.

\----------------

Nico was startled awake at the sound of thunder. He jolted up, though something heavy weighed down on his stomach. Looking down, his breath still ragged, Nico found an arm. Following it up, Nico found Jason still sound asleep. The blond's mouth was slightly open, and puffs of air came out. His arm had been draped across Nico as he laid splayed out on his stomach.

While Nico was bad about hogging most of the bed, the younger boy always woke up to find Jason touching him in some way. Nico's shoulders relaxed as he watched the blond's angelic face. Nico was not the biggest fan of storms. Rain was fine, it was soothing to listen to while falling asleep, but thunder and lightning was a different matter entirely.

The months had slowly passed by since their talk. Annabeth had ended up winning the bet, much to the disappointment of Leo, Rachel, and Thalia. Fall semester was over for the two, and it was already halfway through the spring semester. Nico wasn't sure if they had really had a night since then that the two didn't sleep together. And, with the way Jason was talking, they were going to look for a one bedroom apartment over the summer.

It scared Nico a little, if he were being honest with himself. But this was what he wanted all along, wasn't it? For the first time in a long time, Nico felt like his life was wholly back on track again. Part of him was still scared that he was just doing this because Jason reminded him of Percy. Nico just tried to reassure himself that it was the simple fact that he was afraid of it being true that made it untrue. Annabeth herself had said Nico shouldn't worry, and Nico had learned by now to trust her judgment.

He wasn't afraid of replacing Percy anymore, though. It wasn't about that, and Percy wouldn't want him to hurt himself by not trying to find someone else to love. Percy would want him to be happy, and Jason made him happy.

Unfortunately, their group of friends were already plotting out a new bet. This time it was when a proposal might happen. And when Jason had heard about it, the tips of the blond's ears had turned pink. However, when Annabeth had gotten involved in the bet, Nico had made it clear to Jason that there would be no marriage until school was over.

Speaking of school, Nico's grades had shot up substantially since the previous semester. He also had an idea for what he wanted to do for a project at the end of the semester. For the past few weeks, Nico had been hard at work on a portrait of Percy. And when school ended, Nico planned to bring it back to the apartment. That or give it to Sally, Nico really hadn't decided.

Percy would always hold a place in Nico's heart, and Jason knew that. Jason said he didn't care and that he wouldn't want to take Percy's place. But, as Nico was starting to realize, his heart was big enough to love someone else.

Letting out a sigh, Nico ran his hand through Jason's short hair. The blond mumbled for a moment before his eyes fluttered open. He smiled up at Nico, his arm tightening around the boy's waist. Nico smiled as he was pulled against Jason's chest.

“Couldn't sleep?” Jason mumbled into Nico's hair.

“Thunder woke me up.” The raven-haired boy's eyes drifted closed as Jason pressed their lips together for a quick kiss. “Sorry for waking you up.”

A soft smile appeared on the blond's lips. “I don't mind.” He squeezed Nico tighter, causing the other boy to groan. Jason let out a chuckle. “Sorry. Do I need to let you go?”

Pressing a hand to Jason's cheek, Nico leaned up to kiss his boyfriend again. After they parted, Nico rested his head on Jason's bare chest and closed his eyes, enjoying the sound of the blond's heartbeat. “No, don't let me go.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this was my first Jasico piece that I wrote several months ago. I was just lazy about putting it up on here. Anyways, I did mention plans for the future. My next big fic is actually another Jasico piece. So, if you like thieves and assassins in a steampunk world, you should check it out when I publish it. It still has some work to be done, but I figure I will start on it within the next month, two at the most. It will be fairly long and dark, so I hope you all check it out and will enjoy it.

**Author's Note:**

> <3
> 
> There's a reason readers call me evil.


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